Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/197

171 and heard him snore, he strove with his bonds till he burst them; then, taking up a heavy stone, he cast it down on the Marid’s head and crushed his bones, so that he died forthright. Then he fared on into the valley and found himself in a great island in mid-ocean, full of all fruits, that lips and tongue could desire. So he abode alone on the island, drinking of its waters and eating of its fruits and of fish that he caught, and days and years passed over him, till he had sojourned there seven years.

One day, as he sat, there came down on him from the air two Marids, each carrying a man; and they said to him, ‘Who art thou, O fellow, and of which of the tribes art thou?’ Now they took him for a genie, because his hair was grown long; and he replied, saying, ‘I am no genie,’ and told them all that had befallen him; whereupon they grieved for him and said, ‘Abide here till we carry these two lambs to our king, that he may make the morning mealmorning-meal [sic] of the one and sup on the other, and after we will come back and carry thee to thine own country.’ He thanked them and said, ‘Where are the lambs?’ Quoth they, ‘These two mortals are the lambs.’ And Gherib said, ‘I crave the protection of the God of Abraham the Friend, the Lord of all creatures, who hath power over everything!’ Then the Marids flew away and Gherib abode awaiting them two days, when one of them returned, bringing with him a suit of clothes, in which he clad him. Then he took him up and flew with him out of sight of earth, till Gherib heard the angels glorifying God in heaven, and a flaming arrow issued from amongst them and made for the Marid, who fled from it towards the earth. The arrow pursued him, till he came within a spear’s cast of the earth, when Gherib leapt from his back, and the fiery shaft overtook the Marid, who became a heap of ashes.

As for Gherib, he fell into the sea and sank two fathoms deep, after which he came to the surface and swam for two